Hyderabad: Microsoft has laid off over 15,000 employees so far this year, with internal warnings issued to remaining staff that failure to upskill in artificial intelligence could lead to termination.
The company, which has already executed at least four rounds of job cuts in 2025, most recently eliminated nearly 9,000 roles affecting the Xbox, gaming, and sales units. An additional 6,000 were let go in May, followed by several hundred in June.
Julia Liuson, President of Microsoft’s Developer Division, has reportedly issued strict directives to managers, stating that AI is no longer optional. She said employee performance will now be assessed based on their proficiency with AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Azure AI, and GitHub Copilot.
Analysts link the layoffs to Microsoft’s attempt to cut operational costs amid ballooning investments in artificial intelligence. The company is expected to spend $80 billion on AI this year. These workforce reductions have reportedly saved Microsoft around $500 million so far.
President Brad Smith stated the job cuts were driven not solely by AI automation but also as part of broader cost-control measures. In parallel, Microsoft is launching a new program, ‘Microsoft Elevate’, with a goal to train 20 million people in AI skills over the next five years.
